Group asks Bono to halt Mercs 2

By Games Industry.biz Published 22 March, 2007

Venezuelan Solidarity Campaign.

Political activisits are calling on U2 singer Bono, as an investor in Pandemic Studios, to halt the development of forthcoming shooter Mercenaries 2: World in Flames.

The game is set in Venezuela and sees players taking on a political tyrant who has taken control of the oil industry. It's already attracted criticism from the country's president, Hugo Chavez, who labelled it as an example of "psychological warfare".

Now the Venezuelan Solidarity Campaign has written an open letter to religious leaders asking for their help in stopping production on the game.

Head over to GamesIndustry.biz for the full report.

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Comments (35) Latest comment 5 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • crazyhorse174 #1 5 years ago

    "Please Bono, halt the production of a game that will undoubtably make you some more cash to add to your ever increasing pile..."

    Sorry...I'm in cynical mode today.

  • bioreit #2 5 years ago

    Bit of a stretch to call Bono a 'religious leader', isn't it?

    Unless, of course, they mean he leads the Down Below group, in which case, fair enough...

  • skillian #3 5 years ago

    While I obviously don't think the game needs banning, I do think the "bad guys" in most video games are cringingly stereotypical.

    Video games are basically in the same place as movies were in the late 80s in this regard (and many other regards too, it must be said).

  • Brodie #4 5 years ago

    As soon as they bring out a game where you are a mercenary soldier, charged with hunting down Bono and the rest of his ilk, THEN I'll be interested.

    Until then, whatever.

  • Eldritch #5 5 years ago

    So, why doesn't anybody sue EA because of "Crysis'" anti-North Korean theme?

  • Avaloner #6 5 years ago

    Taken from the letter to Bono:

    'Behavioral science research demonstrates that playing violent video games increases the likelihood of aggressive behavior, particularly in children and youth.'

    As usual... lots of claim, little proof. The only real research I have found up till now relating media and violence it that:

    1) Children are prone at becoming excited after watching any type of media. In fact the study showed that children could be more 'energetic' even after watching a 'harmless' show like Barney or Teletubbies

    2) Research show that videogames are not very popular with prisoners. In fact most people who end up in prisons relating to aggression are not very media literate and read few books, watch few films and play few videogames.

    This letter has nothing to do with videogame violence and everything to do with politics so in the end saying the game is filth and should be banned (sic) is pure and utter oyster crap.

  • septimus #7 5 years ago

    Dear Venezuela,

    F**k off.

    Yours sincerely.
    Edited by 1 at 22/03/07 @ 13:56

  • Beano #8 5 years ago

    Personally I'm looking forward to a game in which the player must overthrow the american dictator... more realistic :)

  • Tyronne #9 5 years ago

    Way to go for free advertising....or is that too cynical ?

  • LeSpank #10 5 years ago

    Bono is a big fat cock gobbler

  • SIDEARM #11 5 years ago

    Bloody socialists!

  • Markusdragon #12 5 years ago

    I think the dictator has a point...
    He's not a dictator though; he's an democratically elected leader that the Americans don't like because he's a socialist.

  • rhinoxious #13 5 years ago

    I can see his point if his country is specifically named, rather than just being costalumbia or something silly.

    How would we like it if an american dev made a game portraying the UK as overrun with lawless hoodies and immigrants that the forces of law and order are powerless to stop (easy there daily mail readers ;). And you play as a crack team of yankee enforcers brought in to clean the place up?

    As for complaining to Bono, well that's just stupid. They should complain to the US government, or take legal action, can you defamate a countries character?

  • ruckus #14 5 years ago

    I would rather play as an Venezuelan repeling the invaders - in fact I wish all games would allow you play on both sides where practicable.

  • mkreku #15 5 years ago

    I think it's a disgusting piece of American propaganda.. that I'll probably preorder and play until my fingers fall off.

    My brain is at war with itself.

  • sickpuppysoftware #16 5 years ago

    Dear Venezuela,

    If you think Bono is so great you can have him.
    We've had enough of his high twattery.
    As your country is hot he may even get away with wearing sunglasses all the fucking time.

    Yours,
    The rest of the world.

  • trevd72 #17 5 years ago

    Venezuela, the new Cuba.

  • trevd72 #18 5 years ago

    @ruckus - freedom fighters rocks. Should have a update.
    Edited by 1 at 22/03/07 @ 14:42

  • ArcMonkey #19 5 years ago

    It's distasteful to me to set a game in the present day and charge you with bumping off an actual living person.

    But they don't really...

    "taking on a political tyrant who has taken control of the oil industry."

    Its not THAT specific...

  • SBfistfun #20 5 years ago

    Dear Bono,
    Please fuck off to a far off island and never appear again.

    Tah

    Me

  • ruttyboy #21 5 years ago

    "How would we like it if an american dev made a game portraying the UK as overrun with lawless hoodies and immigrants that the forces of law and order are powerless to stop (easy there daily mail readers ;). And you play as a crack team of yankee enforcers brought in to clean the place up?"

    Don't know about anyone else, but that sounds hilarious if done the right way! It's kind of Team America the game :)

  • The_Inquisitor #22 5 years ago

    We all want the games industry to be taken seriously but why does it always have to be these South American, political nut-jobs that do?

    And this is the second time Bono has been asked to step in on a games development. He's like an anti-games super hero, but with out the talent.

  • wizbob #23 5 years ago

    Pandemic are part-funded by the US military; Full Spectrum Warrior was spun off military pork-barrel funding. The US military will also doubtless have done some planning exercises around destabilising or invading Venezuela - it's just what they do with neighbours who are perceived as 'unfriendly'.

    In light of that you can see how the Venezuelans are a bit annoyed. The Americans already staged a coup against Venezuela a few years ago. Personally I find the style of the game a bit crass. If you played jackbooted US thugs it would be good fun but instead pandemic have opted for idiot surfer-style Mercs on spring break ... reminds me of a song -

    But now it's too late
    You're entering Managua
    If you had brought your surfboard
    You could surf Nicaragua
    Edited by 1 at 06/06/07 @ 15:08

  • The_Inquisitor #24 5 years ago

    "How would we like it if an american dev made a game portraying the UK as overrun with lawless hoodies and immigrants that the forces of law and order are powerless to stop (easy there daily mail readers ;). And you play as a crack team of yankee enforcers brought in to clean the place up?"

    Forget making a game about it, they should actually do it for real. : )

  • stodgypudding #25 5 years ago

    I blame Sony

  • trevd72 #26 5 years ago

    the UK needs liberating .... amen to that.

  • Nippledoctor #27 5 years ago

    And while they are at it, can they ask the guy to stop singing at all?

  • chrisjm #28 5 years ago

    rhinoxious, I'd buy that game and wouldnt be offended, only way i can legally hunt down the vermin chavs ;)
    Edited by 1 at 22/03/07 @ 16:37

  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #29 5 years ago

    Mercenaries 1 was set in North Korea.

    But since they've got nukes now, and Iran's got them on the way, I guess they just picked a softer target that America still doesn't like. Cuba would have been a bit too Just Cause, so Venezuela all the way!

    Seriously, though, Bioware/Pandemic are a multi-national companies with studios in several countries, and as is the point of this article they're owned in significant part by an Irishman. It's nothing to do with US Propaganda, it's just the writers or designers at the game studio picking stuff from the news and twisting it a bit to fit a game storyline.

    In fact, given the way Mercenaries 1 worked, I wouldn't be surprised if one of the faction contacts in 2 was a political opposition leader of native-Indian descent who wanted to sieze back control of the country for the people...

  • ruckus #30 5 years ago

    trevd72 "freedom fighters rocks. Should have a update."

    ah - but that doesn't let you play as the other side or by 'update' are you saying it's going to? Plus it's you against the Great Red Threat (yawn - yet again), I'd rather play as a russian fighting off the US.

  • agparrot #31 5 years ago

    Is Chavez smoking something?

    I mean *everybody* knows how keen the US Government are on video games, and what a continuing force they are for the justification of real world conflicts!

    /vague sarcasm

    What a twonk

  • Redeye #32 5 years ago

    Funniest thread I've read all week - septimus's comment made me seriously laugh out loud, and LeSpank's just made me spit coffee all over my nice clean laptop.

    *reads headline again, realises it should read 'Rest of world asks Bono to lie in front of bulldozer, Arthur Dent-style*

  • potor36 #33 5 years ago

    @ruttyboy: +1

    Thats one of the best ideas i've heard for a game in a long time

  • Collie #34 5 years ago

    Another 'Head over to GamesIndustry.biz for the full report' news bulletin. This seems to be a reoccurring theme. Requiring two clicks to read a full story is too much effort for me. Although I somehow mustered up the energy to type this.

  • YourMessageHere #35 5 years ago

    "I think it's a disgusting piece of American propaganda.. that I'll probably preorder and play until my fingers fall off.

    My brain is at war with itself."

    +1

    Mind you, if it does have some way to work for the venezuelans against the US I'll do that for preference. I'm almost as sick of having to be the US as I am of WWII.